Rear van door triad lights

ABSTRACT

A cyclops light as now mandated by law on the panel above the rear doors of a van is relocated as side-by-side lights to the inside adjacent corners of the doors and each provided with a triad of lens so that, when a door is open, as when loading and unloading the van, the light now seen through the triad lens is a safety signal to a motorist approaching from the rear, and the light seen through the previously used rear lens is still in use, but as a safety signal to a motorist approaching from the front in a passing lane.

The present invention relates generally to improvements in the rearlight display of an industrial van, the improvements more particularlysupplementing the display to approaching motorists when the doors areopen, as when the van is being loaded and unloaded, and the open doorsobscure from view the van tail lights and contribute to a hazardoustraffic situation.

EXAMPLE OF THE PRIOR ART

The need to supplement obscured tail lights is addressed in numerousprior patents, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,926 for IndustrialVan issued to Peter Gold on Jun. 4, 1996. Although what is provided inthe '926 patent is noteworthy, namely additional lights on the edges ofthe open doors and thus visible to an approaching motorist, the lightdisplay can be additionally enhanced, particularly since it is nowrequired by law that the van in addition to tail lights have anelevated, centrally located so-called cyclops light. As now embodied onthe van, the cyclops light has unnecessary limited utility.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide additionalutility to a tail light/cyclops light combination embodiment on anindustrial van overcoming the foregoing and other shortcomings of theprior art.

More particularly, it is an object to make the presence of a lightdisplay known to motorists not only approaching the van from the rearbut also passing from the front and along side the van, resulting fromnominal construction and position changes in the cyclops light, all aswill be better understood as the description proceeds.

The description of the invention which follows, together with theaccompanying drawings should not be construed as limiting the inventionto the example shown and described, because those skilled in the art towhich this invention appertains will be able to devise other formsthereof within the ambit of the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rear of an industrial van havingtail lights supplemented by a so-called cyclops light in a knownlocation;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating a withininventive modification of the cyclops light and a strategic locationthereof in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is another similar perspective view, but illustrating the reardoors of the industrial van in an open condition;

FIG. 4 is an isolated partial perspective view of the upper left cornerof the right door, it being understood that the illustrated structureduplicates that of the upper right corner of the left door; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating the utility of the within inventivelight display of FIGS. 2-4.

Designated prior art in FIG. 1 is a well known industrial van 10 havingrear tail lights 12 and 14 outboard of a hinge axis 16 and 18 ofrespective left and right rear doors 20 and 22, and a tail light displaysupplemented by a so-called cyclops light 24 located centrally above thedoors 20, 22 on body panel 26.

The construction of the tail lights 12, 14 and the cyclops light 24 arewell known, as are their operating mode of providing a vanbattery-operated illuminated display to an approaching motorist, beingwell documented in the patent literature as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No.5,523,926 for Industrial Van issued to Peter Gold on Jun. 4, 1996, thecontents of which by this reference is incorporated herein in itsentirety.

Underlying the present invention is the recognition that a significantlyenhanced rear light display is obtained, as best understood bycomparison of FIG. 1 with FIG. 2, by replacing the cyclops light 24 withadditional battery-operated cooperating two door-supported light means28 and 30 having as illustrated in FIG. 2 an operative position not onthe body panel 26 but strategically located as a light-displaying pairin a cooperating relation with each other in side-by-side positioncentrally of a top edge 32 of the doors 20 and 22, as at the locations34 and 36. As such, light means 28 is at a centrally located, orinboard, corner 38 of the left door 20, and the other light means 30 isat a centrally located, or inboard, corner 40 of the right door 22. In aclosed condition of one or both doors 20, 22, the light means 28, 30 arepositioned to present to an oncoming motorist a light displaysupplementing the light display of the tail lights 12, 14.

Referring to FIG. 4 it will be more readily understood that the knownbattery-operated bulb of light means 30 transmits light not only througha front rear lens 42, but also is operatively effective in a known andwell understood manner to transmit light through a side lens 44 and aback rear lens 43, the lenses 42, 43 and 44 cooperating to bound thebulb compartment of the light means 30. The construction and operatingmode of light means 30 as just described being understood to also beapplicable to the light means 28.

The strategic location of the side lens 44, and front and back lenses 43and 44 on the respective edges 48 and 50 of the doors 22, 20 areeffective also in an open condition of one or both doors 20, 22 to anextent which obscures from view a tail light 12, 14, to present a triadlight display to an oncoming motorist wherein, as illustrated in FIG. 5,motorist 52 coming from a direction passing van 10 has a line of sight54 to light means 28, and motorist 56 coming from a directionapproaching van 10 has lines of sight 58 to the illuminated side lenses44, and front and rear lenses 42, 43.

While the apparatus herein shown and disclosed in detail is fullycapable of attaining the objects and providing the advantageshereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the detail of construction or designherein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. Improvements for providing a safe environment forloading and unloading out of the rear of a van of a type having a bodywith right and left pivotally hinged doors and tail lights displayed toan oncoming motorist located outwardly of a hinge axis of said right andleft doors illuminated by a battery of said van, wherein said taillights are obscured to said oncoming motorist when said right and leftdoors are in an open condition, said improvements comprising anadditional battery-operated cooperating two door-supported light meanshaving an operative position strategically located as a pair in saidcooperating relation with each other in side-by-side position centrallyof a top edge of said left and right doors, wherein one of said lightmeans is at a centrally located corner of said left door and the otherof said light means is at a centrally located corner of said right doorsuch that in a closed condition of said left and right doors saidstrategic locations of said light means present a light displaysupplementing the light display of said tail lights, and each said lightmeans having two lens means at right angles to each other on saidsupporting door operatively effective for the transmission of lighttherethrough, whereby also in an open condition of a door to an extentwhich obscures from view a tail light there is presented a triad lightdisplay presented to an oncoming motorist.